Trance
by Komett
Summary: Twilight Theme. Natsuki moves back to Fuuka to stay with her mother's old friend, unwittingly getting dragged into the lives of creatures she thought only existed in horror movies when she befriends the not-so-normal idol of her new school.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Mai HiME or Twilight. Other people do.

A/N: Yeah, I know. The whole twilight theme is probably old, but as an ignorant person who literally knew nothing about the concept of Twilight other than the key terms "Vampire" and "Robert Pattinson", I avoided the book and cinema screening like it was the plague. Mainly because it irked all my friends that are in love with it while I refuse to read it and still think that Robert Pattinson ain't as good-looking as they boast. ^_~

But yeah, I was bored last night and watched the DVD and like a true ShizNat nerd could only sit and imagine the HiME version of this movie. But I admit, I don't know ANYTHING about Twilight other than what was in the movie so most of this stuff will be made up anyway, because rather than read the books and follow their plot I'm just gonna make vamps and wolfies out of whoever I damn well want to :D

~ Repeat: NOT GOING TO FOLLOW THE ACTUAL PLOT OF TWILIGHT! xD I'm just borrowing a few concepts ;)

So yeah, if you guys aren't so sick of the twilight theme drop in a review letting me know whether I should write more chapters or if it should be killed quickly before it can grow :P

* * *

Chapter One

* * *

Natsuki stared out at the distant island which was becoming more and more visible as the ferry drew closer.

Fuuka.

The last time Natsuki had been in Fuuka, all she could remember was the constant bleary sky, and how ferociously the rain would pour all throughout the winter. She was 8 years old the last time she had been in Fuuka, which was a whole nine years ago.

She could remember a few foggy details, like the paddock a little out of town where her father used to take her and ride around with her on the quad bike they used to own. She remembered things like her mother's best friend and co-worker Sakomizu-san who would always give her candy.

The building down by the shore where her mother used to work, with the mean desk lady and the pristine white flooring.

Natsuki remembers spending hours playing out the front of Sakomizu's house with his "guard dog" Duran - who was actually a big lovable puppy that used to bark and run in circles whenever Natsuki's mother told her to go outside and play.

She remembered the woman that used to come over to their house while her mother was at work, and her father going upstairs with the strange lady and staying up their for hours at a time while he told Natsuki to sit quietly and watch television.

She remembered the pounding rain and thunder as she sat on the stairs and listened to her mother and father arguing in the kitchen late one night.

She remembered her mother packing their things and taking her into the car, which was the same night the accident happened. She remebered screeching tyres, pouring rain, screams and then the dark, icy water that rushed in.

After being in a coma for 6 weeks, Natsuki awoke in a hospital where her father and a grim-faced doctor gently explained to her that her mother had lost control of the car because of the heavy rain and winds, and had plummeted off the side of the cliff overhanging the ocean. Natsuki survived, but her mother hadn't.

Once she had recovered enough to leave the hospital, Natsuki said goodbye to Fuuka for good. Her father sold their family home and took her off of the island where she was thrust into a new life, living in a busy city and going to new schools and s_till trying to cope _with the fact that she would never see her mother again.

She never made friends with any of the local kids, she never attended any of the after-school activities and she _hated _the new girlfriend her father shacked up with when she was 15. Wait, scratch that. His new _fiance_.

This brought the girl's thoughts back to the present as the ferry pulled into the docks and the passengers around her were standing up and gathering their luggage. Half-carrying half-dragging her massive suitcase onto the pier, she looked around to see where her ride was. In the email, he said that he would be there to pick her up.

There, over by the brown sedan. It was definitely him, for she remembered the ridiculous afro clearly.

The plump man waved cheerfully at Natsuki as he approached her and moved to take her luggage into the car. Natsuki forced a smile out for the man as she stretched her arms which were slightly aching from the burden of carrying the suitcase.

"Hey, Sakomizu".

The man, who she remembered as always being kind towards her and her mother, shut the back door once the luggage was in and proceeded to open the passenger door for Natsuki as she climbed into the vehicle.

"Hi, Natsuki-chan. It's incredible to see how much you've grown since the last time I saw you! You look so much like Saeko, I'm sure she'd be proud of the beautiful young woman you've grown into."

Natsuki, now strapped into the seat and resting her legs up on the dashboard, shrugged and turned to rest her head on the window. She could see herself in the front mirror, and she had to agree with her mother's past friend that she did indeed resemble the young Dr. Kuga.

She had inherited her mothers long, dark hair and her startling green eyes. Coupled with the porcelain complexion of her father as well as his slim features, Natsuki's eyes seemed to stand out more than she could ever remember her mother's.

They drove in silence. Natsuki continued staring out the window as they passed through the wet streets and never once did a beam of sunshine break through the drizzly clouds as they rounded corner after corner and passed buildings that Natsuki was trying to recognise. It was no use though - after the accident, she had banished most memories of Fuuka from her mind and it was futile trying to force them back. She supposed she'd just have to simply re-learn everything all over again.

After a while of the uncomfortable silence, Sakomizu glanced at his best friend's - and former crush's - daughter before clearing his throat and trying to talk to her again.

"So Natsuki-chan... why the sudden idea to contact me and move here to Fuuka? Are things ok at home?"

Natsuki narrowed her eyes out the window at his words, but she never turned her head to look at him.

"It's Natsuki, not 'Natsuki-chan'. And it's none of your business how things are back home."

At the curt statement Sakomizu sighed wearily and concentrated back on the road. He tried to initiate conversation, and failed miserably. It was obvious that the girl was very withdrawn and quiet; not at all like he remembered the playful, energetic little Natsuki-chan who would roll all over the lawn playing with Duran. After a moments of this new tense silence, Natsuki inwardly winced as she felt the guilt sink in.

Really, this man had been kind enough to respond to her out-of-the-blue email when she managed to track down his address, had agreed to her desperate plea to move back to Fuuka and stay with him so she could get away from her father and how cold he was towards her because she didn't accept the new woman that was trying to replace her mother.

How the both of them would spend days at a time away from her and she'd have to go to that wretched school where she was teased mercilessly and called the "Ice Hime" because she never spoke to anyone and the other students chalked it down to Natsuki being a snob and not associating with them. They never stopped to think that maybe she was just shy and horribly miserable.

No, thinking of how this kind man had helped her escape from all that and pay for a ferry ticket so she could move back to the island of her childhood, even agree to let her stay with him, she felt terrible for snapping at him like that. She just wasn't used to conversation.

"Look.... Thank you for letting me stay with you, Sakomizu. Did... did you get the schooling sorted out for me?"

The bespectacled man visibly brightened at the fact that Natsuki was slowly opening up, and he answered enthusiastically.

"Yes, I have arranged a spot for you at Fuuka Gakuen - that highschool with the cherry blossom trees that you loved to drive past in bloom, remember?"

Natsuki smiled a tiny bit as she briefly recalled a memory from her past when she and her mother would walk past the large gates of the school and chibi Natsuki would rech through the bars and grab handfuls of the petals which she would sprinkle all through her hair while her mother laughed and picked them all out again.

Now feeling a lot more comfortable with Sakomizu, she turned her gaze away from the window and curiously looked over to him.

"How did you manage to get me a spot in the school with such little notice? I know you said that you would, but I didn't really expect you to have gone to all the trouble..."

"Hehe, It's fine. I used to do a bit of gardening for them a few years back, so the school administration was more than happy to pull a few strings for me. Those Kanzakis are a nice enough bunch, and they do a good job of the running the school."

"Huh..." she uttered softly, slightly confused at the man's terminology. Perhaps a Kanzaki was a slang term for 'School Official" that the people around here used? Either way, her thoughts on the subject were quickly dismissed as they pulled into the driveway of a tiny house, complete with the old white porch she remembered her mother and Sakomizu used to sit on and drink tea while she played on the lawn with Duran.

That reminded her...

They got out of the car and while Sakomizu was busy fetching the luggage, Natsuki curiously opened the garden gate and walked up the creaky front steps and onto the old wooden verandah where she remembered the huge kennel used to be. Instead of a huge, shaggy brown bear of a dog resting in there like she remembered, she watched as the thinner, ill-looking dog that was currently occupying the kennel lift it's head and regard her.

It's huge dark eyes seemed to light up and it weakly wagged it's tail before putting a lot of effort into getting up and waddling over to Natsuki.

He was a lot older, but he was definitely Duran.

"Duran!" Natsuki cried happily, kneeling down to hug the big dog and pat it's graying muzzle while it's fluffy tail thumped against her. By this time, Sakomizu had made his way onto the porch with Natsuki's suitcase and stopped to watch the two as a laughing Natsuki ruffled the dog's ears while old Duran tried feebly to bark but instead let out a happy-sounding rumble.

"I see Duran remembers you, Natsuki. Though I doubt he'd be able to run around with you anymore - he has arthritis now, you see. Nearly 17 years old, that boy. He's ancient for a dog."

Natsuki gently pulled away and stood up, still reaching out to pat Duran's snout as the dog licked her hand.

"Ah, you poor old boy. It's been ages since I've come to see you, hasn't it Duran?" she cooed.

Sakomizu went inside to put his guest's luggage in her new room. After a while of sitting outside with Duran, Natsuki's attention turned to the sound of a large jeep pulling into Sakomizu's driveway.

She stiffened as she saw two strangers climb out of the car - The driver was a young man around Natsuki's age, with dark spiky hair and from what she could make out from the distance, a scar, that ran across his cheek. He glanced her way and threw her a shy smile and a small wave before walking around to the other side of the car and helping out an older man who looked nearly identical to him, and Natsuki logically assumed it was his father.

The young guy handed his father a cane and helped him down from the passenger seat and once he was on level ground the older, burly-looking man clapped his son on the back as a thank you and then turned his attention onto Natsuki.

"Hey there little girly. You're Saeko's kid, right? You look just like her!"

Natsuki didn't answer back. The two men approached the porch and Natsuki couldn't help but crouch into Duran a little tighter as she started to inwardly panic as these two, strong-looking strangers made their way towards her. Her anxiety was short-lived however, as Sakomizu walked out onto the porch and greeted the older man with a friendly hand shake.

"Takeda!" He greeted the older man, before turning to the young boy who was slightly blushing as he tried not to look at Natsuki.

"And Takeda Jr.!" Sakomizu grinned, thumping the young guy with the wild hair. The boy winced slightly, but immediately straightened as he smiled back at Sakomizu.

"That's Kuga's girl, eh Hiraku?" The older man Natsuki now knew as "Takeda" asked Sakomizu as he looked over at Natsuki who had stood up from Duran and moved a little closer to Sakomizu.

_Well, might as well meet some new people since I plan to be staying here for a while..._

"Yes, this is Kuga Natsuki, the girl I've been telling you about, Kero. She's gonna be staying here for a while and going to your school, Masashi. Perhaps you can show her around on her first day..?"

Takeda Jr, or Masashi, stepped forward towards Natsuki and bowed stiffly to her.

"Err, I'm Masashi... Takeda Masashi, and it's verynicetomeetyou, Kuga-san!"

His words were very fast and it came out as most of a slur that Natsuki could barely understand. She blinked at the stuttering young lad then looked over to Sakomizu.

"The Takeda's are good friends of mine, Natsuki. How about you go with Masashi and he can show you around town while Kero and I sit inside and catch up, ne Natsuki?"

Natsuki let her gaze pass over the company again. The tall bulky man with the wild hair and wolfish-looking scrub beard smiled warmly at her with his strange pale green eyes. Then she looked at his son, the equally well-built young man with the same hair and eyes, who was alternating between glancing at Natsuki and back at the floor, a small flush evident across his nose.

Eventually, she shrugged and nodded. Sakomizu led his friend into the house, who stopped to once again comment to Natsuki about how much she reminded him of her mother before following Hiraku into the house limping with the aid of his cane. She was left standing awkwardly on the porch with the young Takeda.

Finally, the young boy swallowed audibly and met her bright green gaze with his deep pale one.

"So, we're going to be classmates, huh Kuga-san?" He stated lamely, as an attempt to break the ice.

"First of all, you can drop the honourifics. Kuga is fine. Secondly, I thought Sakomizu said you were gonna show me around? It'll be dark soon and I wanna see a bit more of this place before school starts on Monday."

Takeda agreed and they both got into the jeep, pulling out and driving around town as Takeda pointed out all of the major places while Natsuki tried futilely to spark some sort of recognition as she observed each building they passed.

As they were driving out along the shore Takeda's nervous explanation of each important building gradually levelled out into a comfortable one-sided conversation, where he went on about his family and their friendship with Sakomizu while Natsuki listened quietly, staring out the window the entire time.

"And so yeah, after my mum died Dad threw himself into his work, which was as a security guard for the mayor of Fuuka at the time. He was great at it too, because he knew all the martial arts which is also why my family owns the dojo down in the middle of town where he used to give martial arts lessons, which I had to take over after Dad hurt his back in the fight one night and since then I've - "

Natsuki cut him off as she turned to look over at him.

"Your Dad was in a fight? Is that why he has that cane?"

She watched as Takeda's expression darkened and his hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. Realising that she had enquired into something obviously very sensitive, she quickly averted her eyes to the front of the road, not expecting Takeda to reply. Eventually, he ground out:

"My Dad and I were leaving the dojo late one night when we came across a group of people attacking a defenceless lady out towards the edge of the forest just off Aries street on the corner. My Dad and I jumped in to help, but they were already frenzied by then and one of them even pulled a knife on us," he explained, raising one hand from the steering wheel to point at the scar on his cheek, never once taking his eyes off the road.

"It was 5 onto 2, and my dad and I got got pretty badly beaten. Dad took the brunt of it all though, was kicked into a streetlight and screwed up his back. I was almost sure we were done for, and it was in vain anyway since they'd already bitten the woman pretty badly by the time we got there and her neck was all torn up - "

"Wait, bitten?!"

Natsuki's full attention was on the boy, who cut off his story at her sudden interjection and blinking as he realised what he said. Chuckling nervously, he turned to glance at Natsuki's disbelieving expression quickly before turning back to the road and increasing his forced laughter.

"Oh, did I say bitten? Heh, I mean sliced. They slit her throat, with the knife I was telling you about. What a stupid mistake, I mean, bitten? Hahaha, makes them sound like cannibals huh?"

He continued laughing weirdly and sweating as Natsuki settled further back into the seat, running over the scenario in her mind's eye of the story Takeda just told her. After a while, Takeda quickly changed the subject and began to talk again about all the things there are to do in Fuuka that he wanted to show Natsuki the next day.

As they arrived back at Sakomizu's house it was already dark and Natsuki agreed to spend the next day hanging out with Takeda also, as it was going to be a sunday and they had time to visit more places before her first day of school began on monday. Kero and Takeda bid them goodbye, and the rest of the night was spent unpacking her things into the spare attic room Sakomizu had given her.

The next day was quite uneventful also. It consisted of Natsuki and Takeda once again driving around town, ocassionally stopping at places Takeda deemed "hotspots" which were things like a certain park or a diner which was famous for it's burgers.

The introvert teen, through only a day and a half of knowing Takeda, had grown quite used to him and his one-sided ramblings. He was ok, she decided, and she was grateful that she'd be going into school tomorrow and knowing at least one person. That way, she hoped she could get off to a better start than she did at her last school in the city, where the burden of not knowing anybody made it harder for the already depressed little girl to speak to anyone.

As Takeda was dropping her off again that night, they arranged that he would pick her up in the morning for school and they would travel together back and forth to school in his jeep. As she settled for that night, wearing a pair of boxer shorts and a mismatching tank top, Natsuki reached over to the drawer beside her bed and pulled out the worn picture of her mother that she kept with her always.

"Hey Kaa-san... tomorrow I start school here in Fuuka again. Sakomizu is great to me, exactly how I remember he was when I was a kid..."

She allowed her thoughts and gaze to drift off, still holding the picture but staring at the far wall as she got tangled up in more thoughts of the past. Eventually, she snapped out of it and rolled over to put the picture of her mother back into the drawer, mumbling "wish me luck, kaa-san" before closing the drawer and wriggling under the covers.

* * *

The next morning, she got up, showered, dressed and applied her eye make-up. She waltzed into the kitchen, ate the buttered toast Sakomizu had prepared for her, bid him goodbye and gathered her school books and bag. She sat on the porch, petting Duran until the old jeep pulled up along the side of the road, Takeda waving to her as he leaned out of the window and she got up to get in the car.

They chatted idly about the school, the classes, the way the road was quite slippery that morning, and about the idiot on the scooter that pulled out in front of Takeda as he was driving along a straight. Yeah, just normal idle chatter, Natsuki thought to herself. She was secretly happy that she had a friend so quickly, and although it was obvious that Takeda stared at her while she wasn't looking and blushed whenever she spoke directly to him, he was a nice guy and she actually didn't mind his company so much. His endless talking was annoying, yes, but it was soothing to know that he didn't mind Natsuki's silence and wasn't going to hate her for it like the kids at her old school did when she rarely spoke.

Pulling up at the school, Takeda eased the jeep into a tight parking space and proceeded to travel with Natsuki up to the quad area; a sort of lawn with a shaded area complete with benches and tables where the students were milling around before school started.

Takeda was eager to introduce Natsuki to his friends, a bunch of young guys who greeted her warmly and allowed her to sit with them on the lawn while they talked about their weekends. She had to admit though, she was a little uncomfortable at being the only girl sitting here with a group of males. From listening to their boring talk, she learnt that they all belonged to the school's Kendo club and were chatting excitedly about some upcoming tournament that she couldn't even pretend to care about. She was almost ready to excuse herself from Takeda's presence and move off to be alone - like she always is - until a loud cheery voice got her attention.

"Hi guys! Who's the new girl?"

A busty redhead plopped herself down onto the grass next to Natsuki, smiling warmly at her and waiting for her question to be answered. One of the Kendo boys - Tate Yuuichi, Natsuki remembered him introducing himself as - wrapped his arm around the redhead's shoulders and explained to her.

"Mai, this is Kuga Natsuki. Takeda's showing her around, she just moved here to Fuuka and doesn't really know anyone yet. Kuga-san, this is my girlfriend Mai."

Natsuki shyly smiled and nodded in the girl's direction. Mai, noting her discomfort immediately, shrugged her boyfriend's arm off of her shoulders and stood up, reaching a hand down to Natsuki.

"Well, if you're new here then it's no good sitting around with this bunch of losers. Let me go introduce you to some girls, much more fun than sitting around talking about stick fights!"

"Stick fights?! Kendo is the manly art of swordfighting, thank you very much!"

There was some friendly protests from the guys as Mai just laughed and poked her tongue out at them. Allowing the redhead to pull her to her feet, Natsuki was a little bewildered as she was dragged across the quad over to a small bunch of girls who had gathered around a table. Being pushed into a seat by Mai, Natsuki stiffened as the table fell momentarily silent to gawk at the newcomer.

"Chie, Aoi, Mikoto and Nao, this is Kuga Natsuki, and she's a new student!"

Suddenly, all hell broke loose. It began with a disinterested snort from the green-eyed redhead (A lot more crimson in colour than Mai's) girl with eyes the colour of Takeda's that regarded her in a bored fashion. Then an excited brunette lunged forward and clasped her hands, excitedly welcoming her to the school. Growing extremely nervous and somewhat freaked out, Natsuki gently pulled her hands out of the brunette's grip.

"Uhh, Hi?"

Before she could introduce herself further, a phone was thrust in her face by the bespectacled girl with the short hair. She was filming her?!

"Hiya, Kuga-san! I'm Chie, and my friend and partner-in-crime here is Aoi! You're gonna be the latest gossip of the entire school, you know that? How about an interview?"

"WHAT THE HELL?! Get that camera outta my face!"

She demanded, leaning back as far from the phone as she could without toppling backwards. Chie sighed in a disappointed fashion as she put her phone away, and the short scruffy girl sitting next to Mai leaned across the table and curiously poked at Natsuki's bosom.

With a girly shriek, Natsuki all but got up and bolted as far away from these freaks as she could but instead folded her arms tightly and scooted further down the bench from this group of strange people.

"Mai, hers aren't as soft as yours!"

"Ehh, that was very rude of you, Mikoto-chan..."

Eyeing the rest of the table warily, Natsuki listened as Mai proceeded to apologise profusely for her friends and their over-enthusiastic reactions to her, and gradually Natsuki shuffled back up along the bench until she was sitting with the group again. She made sure to sit out of reaching distance of the breast-obsessed Mikoto and the two 'personal-space invaders' Chie and Aoi.

The lime-eyed girl that had yet to speak - Nao, she recalled Mai as adressing her - shut the book she was previously reading and put it in her bag as she turned her attention to Natsuki.

"So, you recently moved here huh?"

Natsuki nodded as the group all listened to her introduce herself.

"Yeah, I used to live here years ago as a kid but my Dad and I moved out of Fuuka after my mum died when I was 8" she replied.

"Oooh, your mum died when you were that young? I'm sorry to hear that... is that why you're friends with Takeda? Because his mother died when he was a kid too?"

Natsuki looked on with interest at Mai's words. Although she had heard Takeda mention a few times about his mother's passing, she never was stupid enough to pry into the details. In fact, he never really mentioned at all the cause of his mother's death. Aoi was all to quick to answer that, however.

"Yeah, I remember that. Wasn't it an animal attack or something?"

"I heard that her jugular was completely ripped out, and she bled to death all over the town square!" Chie piped up, adjusting her glasses as the topic of conversation switched from Natsuki to the town's history of wild animal attacks in less than a few seconds.

Losing interest in the conversation, Natsuki's gaze drifted around the quad area as she lost herself in thought. Animal attacks? Crazed gangs of psychos with knives? Fuuka was beginning to sound a lot more dangerous than she could ever remember it being. Either that, or she was too oblivious to it when she was young and had been surrounded by it the whole time. She was pulled out of her thoughts abruptly as she noticed the enitre quad fall into hushed whispers and all the students turned to watch as a flash-looking sports car pulled into the car park.

Mai caught Natsuki staring with confusion over at the car like everyone when she leaned over to whisper in her ear,

"That's the Kanzakis."

Natsuki tilted her head to acknowledge that she heard Mai, but didn't take her eyes off of the car as the doors began to open and people started filing out.

"Who? Who are the Kanzakis?"

"They are students that make up the Student Council of Fuuka Gakuen. They're all straight-A students, loved by the entire school. Their father, Kanzaki Rei, is the headmaster here."

"Ehhh?! They're all one family and they're all in the same class?!"

Chuckling at Natsuki's shock, Chie spoke up to clear the confusion.

"No, they're all unrelated and have different names, but Rei-sama sort of "took them in", like foster kids sorta, and they all live with him and his wife. We just call them the Kanzakis 'cause they're always together and they act like one big family".

Nao snorted.

"Meh, they're not so great. They're just a bunch of goody-goodies who the idiots of this school idolise and voted them into the Student Council. I think they're overrated."

Natsuki turned to spare a glance at Nao's frown before turning back the students dressed in their immaculate Student Council clothes as they climbed out of the car. First out was a blonde girl who adjusted the shoulder strap of her bag while she waitied for a shorter brunette girl with glasses to climb out beside her and they walked up to the school building together.

"That blondie is Suzushiro Haruka and the shorter girl is Kikukawa Yukino. They are both on the Student Executive board, and they're basically in charge of dealing with the punishments and stuff handed out to students who break school rules," Chie explained.

Next out was a tall man with a shaved head, followed by a young woman with a bright pink hair. The man looked way too old to be a student, and the lady straightened out his suit and tie before the duo also made their way up to the school building.

"That's the headmaster we were telling you about. That's Kanzaki-sama, and his wife Fumi who is also the school receptionist."

Mai was interrupted by Mikoto.

"Yeah, she's very nice! Did you know that sometimes she brings cookies to school, and when I go visit her in the office she gives me some?" Mikoto nodded excitedly, leaning forward on the table. Natsuki turned away from the car to ask Mai,

"So these are the Kanzakis? I see what you mean when you say that they basically rule this school... I mean, with the authority positions they're all in - "

"Hang on, Natsuki. That's not all of them, see?" Mai interrupted her and pointed back towards the car. Natsuki watched as the driver door opened to reveal a young man - the stereotypically tall, dark and handsome type - walk around to the passenger side and open the door, helping a girl out of the car.

Natsuki was thrown slightly off guard as the feminine figure stood onto the pavement. From the distance, Natsuki saw long tawny hair spilled over petite shoulders as her gaze traveled down the girl's curve-hugging cream school vest, to her dark short skirt, and down the slim toned legs which were covered from the knee down with the Fuuka Gakuen uniform socks.

The Kanzaki girl flipped her hair over her shoulder and proceeded to gracefully walk side-by-side with the dark-haired man towards the school building. Natsuki noticed that they were almost immediately swamped by a chorus of "Good morning!"s from the star-struck student body as the pair smiled charmingly at everyone they walked past.

Natsuki felt a bit zoned out as she stared at the beaming smile she could see the girl giving everyone. It was.... _radiating. _Natsuki bet that if it wasn't such a bleak, cloudy day that girl's smile would manage to outshine the sun anyway. Natsuki was tugged back to reality when she felt Mai's hand land on her shoulder.

"That's Kanzaki Reito and Fujino Shizuru, the power duo of this school. Yes, that stud is **actually **a Kanzaki, he's Rei-sama's younger brother. Reito and Shizuru are everyone's favourite couple, and they run the Student Council together as the President and vice-president."

Natsuki continued to stare at the retreating figures.

"They're a couple? Even though they live together like siblings and stuff?" Natsuki thought it was a bit strange, even though logically she knew the two weren't related at all. She thought it was a bit strange to hear they were together, or a bit... disappointed? Aoi leaned closer.

"Well, they aren't _officially _a couple, but everyone loves to speculate that they are. I mean, when you don't see the Kanzaki kids all together in one group, you at least ALWAYS see Reito-san and Kaichou-san together..."

"Yeah! There's even a fanclub dedicated to writing stories and doujins about the two as a couple. The Kanzakis are idolised and respected by everybody, but those two are definitely winning all the popularity contests! You won't believe how much some of those crazy fans are willing to pay for a few snapshots of that couple."

Chie finished her words with a smug grin, making it all too obvious to Natsuki that she made a habit out of selling such snapshots to the fanclub. Her and that damn camera phone.

"You know, in a way, I kinda wish it IS just a rumour that the Kanzaki pair are an actual couple. I mean, did you see how freaking hot Reito was, Natsuki? I bet all the girls in this school would _love _to date a gentleman like him!"

The table collectively sweatdropped at Mai's gushing over the handsome vice-president. Nao snickered.

"Keep it up Tokiha, and I'm gonna have to tell Tate that you've got the hots for one of the Kanzakis!"

"WHAT?! I do not! I mean-! Everyone has to agree that he is gorgeous, right?"

"Fufufufu... keep this up Tokiha, and Tate might just leave you and that Shiho girl with the crush on him will make a move..."

"Shut up Nao!"

Natsuki ignored the bickering between the two redheads as her thoughts drifted back to that girl she had seen walking with Reito. _If anyone was worthy of taking the title of 'Gorgeous', it would be her _Natsuki's mind concluded, causing a blush to immediately spread on her face.

_Wait, did I just think of a girl as being gorgeous?!_

Thankfully, Natsuki was saved from the embarassment of her own thoughts when the bell rang. Gathering her stuff, Natsuki stood up with the rest of the crowd and was a little unsure of where she was supposed to go and what to do. Mai noticed her lost expression and grabbed her arm, leading towards one of the double doors of the school building.

"Here Natsuki, I'll take you to the office to get your program!"

Natsuki felt exasperated as she was dragged around like a rag doll by the arm thanks to the death-grip of the bubbly redhead.

* * *

After her first few classes, Natsuki was starting to get the hang of the school and it's hallways, and even memorise where the bathroom was located. She was helped by Chie and Aoi to find the canteen, where she bought herself a chicken sandwich and 10 little squeezy packets of mayonnaise (much to the sick amazement of the group).

It was during lunch that she actually locked eyes with the girl she had seen that morning. The Kanzakis truly did stick together just like the girls were saying earlier, and they all sat together at one lunch table (minus Rei and Fumi, who were busy all throughout lunch).

Natsuki had been secretly staring at the girl who sat across the small quad area while Mai and the rest of the girls were all gaggling about something or other. She broke off midway through her intense observation of the girl to wrap up the remainder of her lunch, before she tried to sneak another peek at the oh-so-famous Kaichou.

Only this time, she was caught.

She was startled when she looked up and instead of seeing the profile of the girl's face as she talked with her 'siblings', she found an amused garnet gaze staring right back at her. Blushing, Natsuki let out a small cough and quickly looked back down at her lunch. Mikoto, with a chicken drumstick hanging out of her mouth, reached up and thumped Natsuki on the back. Hard.

"OW! What the hell was that for?!" Natsuki demanded, swiftly turning to glare at the naive girl who shrugged easily and responded,

"Your face was all red, and you coughed. I thought you were choking on your food."

Needless to say, this small statement brought a few giggles amongst the group, and did nothing to help the red flush ease from Natsuki's cheeks. If anything, it only intensified.

After a few moments of listening to Chie talk about some kind of unimportant love triangle between 3 junior students that Natsuki didn't know, she decided to risk looking across the room once more.

And she saw that girl turned back to her friends, laughing demurely at some kind of joke that the Reito guy said and seemingly forgetting that she had even caught Natsuki staring at all.

_She must be used to people gawking at her, _Natsuki decided as the bell rung again and everyone moved to go to their next class.

* * *

It was the final class of the day, and Natsuki followed the classroom guide she had been given at the start of the day by one of the student co-ordinators. It didn't help that Fuuka Gakuen was almost the size of a small castle, but Natsuki prided herself on the fact that she had actually been able to find her way to class on time for each lesson she had today. Finally stopping in front of room 16A, Natsuki looked at the black lettering on the sliding white door and back down at her class timetable.

_History Class, Suguira-sensei, room 16A. This has to be it._

Rolling up the piece of paper, Natsuki stuffed it in her pocket and slid the door open, revealing first to her a woman standing behind the teacher's desk who had turned to look at Natsuki once she heard the door open. The woman grinned cheekily, dropping the book she was holding onto the desk as she motioned with her hand for Natsuki to enter the room.

"Ah, so you're Kuga-san, hm? Welcome to Fuuka Gakuen!" The woman cried, throwing her arms up banzai style. Natsuki just stood in the doorway, contemplating whether to actually enter the room or just flee from this obviously-deranged woman.

At seeing Natsuki's stupefied expression, the teacher lowered her arms and sighed.

".... Ok then. I'm Suguira-sensei, this is history, there's your new seat." she spoke curtly, pointing to somewhere near the back of the room. Natsuki felt reassured at the new deadpan demeanour of her teacher and walked into the room, about to walk towards her seat when she saw who was sitting directly next to her at the bench.

Those exotic eyes seemed to laugh at her again, exactly the same way they had done so when they caught her staring at lunch time. Natsuki swallowed a deep breath and plastered on her "I don't care about anything around me" expression as she marched over to the bench and dumped her bag beside her as she plonked herself down onto the chair.

She tried to focus intensely on her bag as she rummaged through it's contents, trying to find her history book. But it was so damn _hard _to concentrate when she could _feel _those eyes lingering on her as she sat up straight again and dropped her book onto the table with a muted thud.

As the sensei began to talk, everyone fell silent and began scribbling down notes. Natsuki's eyebrow twitched as she rested her chin on her hand and tried very hard to stare at the front whiteboard rather than give into the urge to turn and look at her current desk-mate.

A little while into the lesson, Natsuki heard a velvety chuckle come from beside her. She turned her head slightly to look at the Kaichou and saw the girl watching her carefully, a hand over her mouth as she giggled softly.

"What?" Natsuki enquired in a whisper, trying to sound harsh but failing due to small pink flush that lingered on her cheeks. The Kanzaki just smiled and answered quietly with a most sensuous accent,

"Araa... you are staring at the whiteboard with such intensity, I imagine you're trying to burn a hole through it with your gaze, no?" she enquired. Natsuki furrowed her brows just a little.

_This girl has a strange roundabout way of wording her sentences... but her accent is just so...._

Her thoughts halted as the girl smiled at her.

"I am Fujino Shizuru, by the way" She said, looking expectantly at Natsuki. The raven-haired girl dropped her gaze from the girl's face to the desk, then back up.

"Kuga. I just moved here."

"Most pleasant to meet you, Kuga-san."

Natsuki just nodded absently as her reply, too entranced with the other girl's eyes to bring herself to answer with words. They were.... red? It was surely the strangest colour Natsuki had ever seen in her life. Like a ruby, almost, with the dark edging getting brighter towards the centre until the colour surrounding the pupil was practically crimson. And perhaps it was just Natsuki, but were those eyes almost... glowing?

Realising that she was staring again, Natsuki nearly gave herself whiplash as she spun her head back to facing the sensei, trying to will away the warmth that she could feel was creeping it's way across her cheeks. Damn it, was she coming across as a weirdo even on her first day of school?

Throughout the rest of the lesson, Natsuki kept very good control of herself and didn't even glance once at Shizuru (Well, perhaps she snuck a few peeks at her arm that was resting close to hers but not once did she dare look at her face!) and no more words were exchanged between the two.

However, Natsuki was becoming increasingly flustered as she noticed Fujino had been edging closer to her throughout the lesson; almost unnoticably, except for the fact that Natsuki was secretly paying close attention to every little move the girl made.

Seriously, although they weren't directly touching Natsuki knew that Fujino was leaning in closer to her, to the point where she could even smell the sweet fragrance coming from the tawny hair as it's host subtly tilted towards her. And to make matters worse, Natsuki could once again feel that gaze burning into her.

Breathing a little shallowly, Natsuki watched from the corner of her eye as the pale hand that had been resting next to her book moved out of her vision and a very soft inhale of breath, almost imperceptible, was heard from directly next to her.

_Surely she's not... is she... scenting... me?_

She couldn't take it anymore. She gave in.

Turning head to look at the Kanzaki, Natsuki was taken aback by the sight of the other girl (and the proximity). Shizuru's once red eyes were now almost completly swallowed up by the pupil, she looked like an animal poised to attack as her stare bored into Natsuki's and that hand that had been resting on the desk was now clamped firmly across her mouth. Not in the polite way that it had been when the girl was giggling, but really clamped across it as though she was trying not to be sick or something. Up this close, Natsuki could see how incredibly pale this girl was. Beautiful, elegant features set onto such a pale face. She was absolutely stunning, really.

In a rush of embarassment and shyness, Natsuki felt most of all a twinge of fascination.

_What the..._

The final bell rung, and the Kaichou was up and out of her seat before Natsuki could even comprehend. She had no time to voice her questions before the Kaichou was packed up and out of the room, striding towards the door with that hand still across her mouth.

Natsuki blinked and shook her head from her seat before stuffing her book into her school bag and proceeding to rise.

_I wonder what the hell was up with that girl..._

* * *

Takeda pulled into Sakomizu's driveway and switched the engine off, turning to watch Natsuki as she unclipped her seatbelt and reached down for her bag which lay at her feet.

"So, you think you'll be able to get used to our school?" He enquired, as it was the first thing he could think of as something to say that would stop Natsuki from exiting the car immediately. The raven-haired girl stopped, then looked up at Takeda.

"I dunno. School's school. I'm gonna hate it wherever I am. And these uniforms are just... eurgh."

Takeda laughed at Natsuki's irk. Secretly, he found the sight of Natsuki in a tight vest and short skirt very appealing, though he dare not say it. He was completely unaware that he made such thoughts obvious anyway with the way he acted so jittery around her, but Natsuki just shrugged it off anyway. Damn hormonal boys.

Catching sight of a glint of metal that was peeking out of the top of Takeda's shirt, Natsuki curiously leaned forward. Erupting into a full-body blush and eyes going frighteningly wide at seeing Natsuki lean in so close to him, Takeda froze as still as a statue as Natsuki gently pulled the chain from around her friend's neck out of his shirt so that the pendant rested in her hand. It was like a set of dog tags, ironically picturing the etched outline of a wolf on them, along with the kanji for 'Takeda' engraved into the back.

Takeda recovered from his momentary heart attack and shyly looked down at the top of Natsuki's dark head as she inspected the necklace.

"Y-you like wolves?" He stuttered, arms completely rigid at his sides as he felt Natsuki so close to him.

"Mm" came her absent response as she dropped the chain where it fell to Takeda's neck, leaning back away from him and settling back into her side of the vehicle. The sudden loss of proximity allowed to Takeda to get some more words out now.

"Ah, well you see... wolves are kinda like my family's crest. Or totem animal... symbol? You know what I mean," he mumbled, pretty disappointed with himself that he couldn't get his words out properly. Natsuki breathed out a short sound of understanding as she opened the passenger door.

"Yeah, I get it... It's a Takeda family thing, right?" she spoke over her shoulder as she climbed out the car. Takeda nodded.

"Yeah, pretty much. Pick you up tomorrow?"

She nodded one last time as she shut the door of the car and walked through the garden gate. She heard Takeda start up the jeep and pull out of the driveway as she stopped at the porch to pat Duran in his kennel before continuing into the house.

She had only a few hours to herself before she was called into the kitchen by Sakomizu, who had prepared them a small dinner. Natsuki inwardly giggled - he was such a house wife.

Midway through the meal, Natsuki broke the peaceful quiet with a question for her current guardian.

"Sakomizu...." she began, trailing off as she awaited permission to continue.

"Yes, Natsuki?" He enquired. Permission granted.

"Um... what do you know about the Kanzakis?"

Sakomizu placed his fork down onto his plate so he could give Natsuki his full attention.

"What is there to know? I used to work for Rei-san a few years back, and his kids are nothing but well-behaved students who have never wronged anybody. Why do you ask?" he ground out stiffly. Natsuki watched his tense expression out of the corner of her eye. It seemed like this was a conversation that he was trying to kill fast. She decided to quit ahead with her questions.

"No reason. I just saw them today, and they seemed so... above everyone. Like, no-one would even approach them, only call out well wishes and greetings and stuff from a distance."

Sakomizu visibly relaxed at Natsuki's simple statement.

"Yes, they are very well-respected and they definitely keep to themselves. It's best to just let them be, and leave them alone. It's no good for people to be pushing into their business when they have a group of their own," he finished in a kind of sagely tone as he shovelled another forkful of food into his mouth.

Seeing that this was the end of the Kanzaki topic, Natsuki just nodded and continued eating nonchalantly.

After dinner and a bit of ice-cream for sweets, Natsuki once again retreated to her bedroom after a hot shower and changed into her sleepwear. She fussed over her lingerie collection (which had made up about 80% of the bulk in her luggage) before turning off the light and sliding under her covers.

She fiddled around with her phone for a little bit as she set her alarm for the next morning, early enough for her to begin her daily rituals without having to make Takeda late for school. Not that poor attendence bothered her - she was notorious for skipping classes at her old school, particularly the ones like P.E where the class chose their teams and always left her out. Nah, she'd rather bear a bad attendence record than face that most days but in Fuuka, she wanted to try and make a change.

Tossing her phone onto the drawer beside her bed, she rolled onto her back and stared at the dusty ceiling of Sakomizu's attic.

_Tomorrow, I think I'm gonna ask that Fujino girl what was up with her today... _was her final thought before drifting off.

* * *

Please review if you got this far, guys! :)

~ Komett


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: Nuh.

A/N: *sweatdrop*

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

Natsuki didn't get to complete her mission the next day. Once again, she was up, showered, dressed and ready for school. She caught the lift with Takeda, met up with Mai and her new group of - dare she say it - friends, milling around with them before school began.

Only, when the bell did sound and everyone started to move, she opened up her timetable to find that she didn't have history at all that day. Not again until wednesday, in fact.

_Damn._

Although that dismal fact forced Natsuki to temporarily put a hold on her plan to interrogate the strange Kanzaki she shared a desk with, it did nothing to stop her from seeing the girl around campus all day. And how could she not? The Kanzaki girl and her boyfriend were like a giant walking beacon around the school - when they weren't huddled together in their secluded little family group the attractive pair were walking to and from the Student Council Office, almost always shadowed by a covert group of girls with camera phones and the like.

Natsuki voiced her frustrations with that at lunch.

"Why do those people _constantly _stalk the Kaichou and her vice-president? I mean, I barely ever see the executive Kanzakis get followed around like that..."

Aoi giggled into her food at this and Natsuki blinked, wondering what she had said to cause such strange little smirks to appear on everyone's face at the table. Mai leaned towards Natsuki's ear.

"That's because everyone is scared of Suzushiro."

"Huh? Why is she so scary?"

Chie whipped out her phone and showed a certain picture to Natsuki. The new student had to exert an extreme amount of self-control in order to stop her mouth from dropping open.

There, on the screen, was Suzushiro Haruka lifting a lunch table above her head as a bunch of students cowered before her on the lawn.

"And I swear to you, Kuga-san, this wasn't photoshopped!"

"Eh?! How the hell did she manage to lift that thing?!" Natsuki didn't bother to hide the shock in her voice.

"Nobody knows," Chie shrugs.

"It was a new bench at the time and those boys there had been carving their names into the surface so she just strolled up to them and threatened to throw the whole table at them! I witnessed the entire thing!"

Aoi wrapped her arm around Chie and nodded, as if to confirm Chie's story. Natsuki didn't think it was even possible for a girl of Suzushiro's height and stature to lift a school desk, let alone a lunch table. As if to confirm her own thoughts, she looked over her shoulder at the Kanzaki table so she could have a good look at Suzushiro. What she didn't expect though was the Kaichou's eyes already fixed on her, the rest of her table including Suzushiro engaged in conversation while she alone had her head turned facing Natsuki, playing with a lock of her hair.

Another unexpected occurance was the quick action the Kanzaki girl took. Instead of blushing and looking away quickly like Natsuki did when she was caught staring the previous day, she straightened up her posture and purposely turned back to her table, fully ignoring the raised eyebrow Natsuki had sent her.

Although Fujino was no longer paying her any attention Natsuki continued to stare over her shoulder at the Kanzaki table, feeling a strange twinge of satisfaction when she saw the girl discreetly glance at her out of the corner of her eye before striking up a conversation with the Kikukawa girl.

"Oi, Kuga. What're you doing?"

At Nao's question, Natsuki turned back to her table to find that they had all been watching her the entire time she was occupied with the Kanzaki table. She shook her head and smiled somewhat weakly, coming off as more of a shy grimace.

"Uh, sorry.... what were we saying about Suzushiro?"

Nao continued to eye Natsuki suspiciously. Luckily for Natsuki, stare-downs were something she happened to be gifted at. She glared right back at Nao, causing the redhead to lift an eyebrow questioningly and lean back in her seat. She furrowed her brow and spoke,

"Don't get so fascinated with the Kanzakis, new girl. They're a bunch of complete weirdos, and they never let anyone close enough to their group anyway. If you're still so deperate, go and join that pathetic fanclub and you can stalk the freaks all day without shame."

Natsuki lurched forward and smacked her palms down against the benchtop.

"What the hell makes you think I want to stalk them?!"

"Tch, you've been staring at them ever since you first got here yesterday. It makes me sick."

Natsuki had her mouth open, ready to either snap a retort back to the now-smirking Nao or punch the smirk right off when Mai quickly leaned forward to block her view of the enemy girl.

"Hehe, now now Natsuki! That's quite the temper you have!" she laughed nervously, waving her hands as a sweatdrop made it's way down the side of her forehead. Natsuki glared at Mai for a moment, biting back an insult, before sighing with frustration and looking off to the side of the room.

Then, deciding that she needed to be away from Nao in order to cool down, the raven-haired girl stood up abruptly and gathered her rubbish, squeezing it into a ball within her tight fist.

"Be back in a minute," she mumbled under her breath, slinging her bag over her shoulder and proceeding to make her way over to the rubbish bin at the far end of the quad. As she walked away from her table, she could hear Mai, Chie and Aoi reprimanding an annoyed Nao for provoking Natsuki. It made her smile.

_I couldn't punch her out, but at least I can get some comfort knowing she's getting nagged about it by the others._

Now in front of the trash, Natsuki threw in the foil and paper of her sandwich wrapper while casting another glance over to the Kanzaki table. Only to find that the object of what Natsuki worried was fast becoming an obsession, wasn't sitting in her spot anymore.

_Where'd she go..._

"Looking for me?"

Natsuki yelped and spun around, the sudden accented voice making her nearly jump out of her skin.

The oh-so-famous idol of her new school stood with a bright smile _smirk? _on her face, hands clasped behind her back politely and head tilted to the side in an amused, inquisitive fashion. Natsuki hastily regained her composure and adjusted the shoulder strap of her bag, willing her face to sink into it's visage of cool indifference when in actual fact her heart was still racing from the embarassment and suprise of being caught by the very girl she was looking for.

"Er - No. I was just putting my rubbish in the trash... what's it to you anyway?"

_Smooth, Natsuki. Just bark right at her, why don't you. Baka!_

"Ara, you're quite the guarded one. I do hope my presence isn't intimidating you?" Here, the girl ended her question with a drawn out inflection and a cheeky smile prompting Natsuki to snort and frown.

"I'm not intimidated."

"Well, then. I don't think I got to tell you yesterday, but I am actually the Ka-"

"I know. Fujino Shizuru, kaichou."

Shizuru let out the breath she'd been going to use for her introduction into a steady exhale, polite smile still fixed, but those eyes looking so amused. She studied the underclassman before her.

Natsuki continued to stand straight and gazed nonchalantly back at the Kanzaki, but her resolve was beginning to slip as she once again felt small and weak against those deep garnet eyes that were ruthlessly taking in every part of her. She barely noticed that as the awkward silence stretched on for a few more moments she began nervously digging her fingernails into her thigh.

".... Oh my, so you have been stalking me then?"

"_Nani?!"_

"I caught you staring at me yesterday, and now all of a sudden you seem to know my name. Ah, to think that even a girl who has only been here for a day and a half has already become one of my obsessive fans..."

Natsuki made a few choked sounds for a second before managing to defend herself with,

"But you're the Kaichou! Everyone told me who you were as soon as I got here! And I was only looking at you because I wanted to ask why the hell you had that... that panic attack thing in class yesterday..."

At this, the Kanzaki diverted her eyes off to the side and she straightened up somewhat uncomfortably before replacing the smile and looking back into Natsuki's eyes once again.

"...Fufufu, Kuga-san is quite easy to rile up. And you're very entertaining once you get going! Really now, I was not serious when I suggested that you were a stalker, although if I can get this kind of reaction out of Kuga-san every time I say so, then I think I'm going to enjoy sitting next to you for the remainder of the year, Mm?"

Natsuki's guard dropped as more embarassment finally overloaded her ability to mask her expression and filtered through onto her face, staining her cheeks in a mild flush. Her momentary weakness was immediately forgotten however when she saw the look that crossed the older girl's face upon seeing the blush.

It was the same one she had in class just before she left the room; Dazed, feral and _hungry?_

Before Natsuki could question it, the Kaichou blinked and raised her hand to her face, raking her fingers through her fringe as those _inexiplicably darker _eyes fixed themselves onto a spot beyond Natsuki's shoulder, a quick glance behind showing Natsuki a table full of solemn-faced Kanzaki's gazing right back at her and Shizuru.

Spinning her head back around to face Shizuru, she saw that the girl's eyes never once broke contact with the stares of her 'family members' as she began to move past Natsuki.

"It was very nice chatting to you, but I'm afraid I have to be going now. Lunch is almost over and I have a school meeting to attend"

Natsuki shuffled to the side as the taller girl brushed past her and rested a hand softly on her shoulder, against her neck, as she was passing her.

"See you in class next time, Nat_su_ki~."

Then the hand was gone and the girl had moved off towards her table. Natsuki swallowed and felt a mild shiver travel down the length of her spine as she recalled the strange feeling that had come over her while the Kaichou's eyes had been boring her own. It wasn't... fear, to be exact. It was more like.... well, not bewilderment either. Natsuki identified it as being similar to the feeling one gets when they are exhilarated - heart rate accelerates and a surge of adrenalin rushes through the veins.

_And why was that hand so cold?_

Shaking off these thoughts, Natsuki heard the shrill cry of the bell signalling the end of lunch for everybody. Straightening her skirt as she walked towards her next class, her mind once again drifted back to the short conversation she'd had with the popular yet weird girl. And the way that her name had rolled off of the girl's tongue wrapped in that sultry accent...

_Wait. When did I tell her my name was Natsuki...?_

Once again rudely interrupted from her thoughts. This time because an arm was slung across her shoulders and she was forcefully pulled face-first into a large bossom.

"Natsuki! We have this next class together!"

"Gahh- No touching, Tokiha!"

"Hahaha, Natsuki are you blushing? Natsuki? Aww Natsuki, wait up! Don't walk so fast!"

* * *

She leaned against Takeda's jeep as she waited for him to come out of the gym hall. Class had ended just a short while ago, and the car park was rife with students conversing and piling into their vehicles. Natsuki sighed in frustration as one of her earphones fell out of her ear, roughly sticking it back in and fiddling a little more with the volume on her mp3 player. She never was a patient girl, even though she came across as so detached from other people.

Even amongst her new friends, she was still a tad shy and it came off as coldness. She just hoped that they chalked it down to new school nerves and didn't mistake her social awkwardness for being a frigid bitch.

A chorus of swoons and cheerful greetings floated over the volume of her music and caused her to look over towards the commotion. It was the Kanzaki group, all striding with their trademark confidence and sync towards their car. They nodded and smiled at the trail of students bidding them a goodbye, but didn't stop long enough to provide anyone with anymore attention than a fleeting glance and emotionless curve of the lips.

_Tch, and I thought that __**I **__was detached._

It was enough to satisfy the fangirls and boys though, and no-one dared to venture any closer to the group who now hovered around their flashy car. The adoring students all turned their attention back to the conversations they were having beforehand and Natsuki was the only one left scrutinising the family. Well, specifically one tall and gorgeous girl from aforementioned family.

In that second, Natsuki accidentally managed to brush her wrist across the screen of her iPod touch and cause the volume to skyrocket. Jumping in suprise and wincing at the unbearably loud drums crashing in her ears, Natsuki swore and ripped the earbuds out before proceeding to adjust the volume back to a decibel level bearable to the human species. Hoping no-one had witnessed her embarassing mistake, she quickly swept her eyes across the car park and then back over to the Kanzaki car to once again fall upon.... _huh? But she was right there..._

"Ara, it's just too fun to sneak up on Natsuki like this."

A girlish yelp. Again. A pivot on the heel and once again a red-faced student faces a red-eyed Student Council President.

"H-how'd you get there?!"

"Hmm? I saw Natsuki in a violent tussle with her monstrous earphone tentacles, so I came over to check that she didn't need assistance."

Natsuki's eyes flitted from the girl, to the Kanzaki's car across the parking lot, then back to the girl.

_Bullshit. She couldn'tve gotten over here so fast. It's.... it's impossible. But then how else....?_

There really was something weird going on with this girl. Natsuki just couldn't put her finger on it. The girl put her finger on Natsuki, though.

The cold fingertip trailed down the side of Natsuki's porcelain face and down towards her collarbone before Natsuki freaked and jumped backwards. Eyeing the girl with bewilderment, Natsuki's hand shot to her neck where the perfectly-manicured index finger had just been.

The familiar rush of warmth. Her cheeks burned. Damn, why couldn't she control her blushing?!

The Kaichou, still leaning forward and with her finger outstretched, smiled cheekily at her.

"Ah, you fazed out for a second there, I was merely regaining your attention."

"O-okay..."

A moment of silence whilst Natsuki wallowed in her blush and Shizuru stood back to full height, leaning back against Takeda's car mirroring Natsuki at her side. Black locks were tucked behind an ear as a shy individual clutched at her mp3 player, arching an eyebrow at the Kanzaki now casually resting against the car beside Natsuki like she was some kind of close friend.

"So you just transferred here yesterday, ne?"

"Yeah..."

"And how are you enjoying the school so far?"

"Umm... I guess it's ok...." _Why is she talking to me?_

"Ah, good to know. Most of the students are rather friendly, so I shouldn't expect anyone to bother Natsuki too much."

_How does she know my name?!_

"I read it in your file before you transferred."

Viridian eyes widened and she snapped her head around to stare incredulously at the girl who looked quite suprised and guilty herself after the last statement. Slightly panicked ruby eyes met hers as she voiced her next question.

"How... how did you hear that? I didn't say that aloud"

A nervous smile and an attempt to feign humour.

"Fufufu, yes you did. Maybe you didn't realise it, but you definitely asked me how I knew your name."

For a split second, Natsuki doubted herself. No, no... she definitely _**did not **_ask that. She _**thought **_it.

"No I didn't, you... I didn't ask you that!"

A glint of something a tad more serious in those blood-coloured eyes.

"What are you suggesting then, Natsuki? That I read your mind or something similarly ridiculous?"

The accompanying smirk hid that moment of panic from the Kanzaki's eyes and her confidently amused look replaced it. Natsuki didn't know how to respond. How exactly did she think the girl could've heard her then? Mind reading is totally out of the question, so...

Natsuki shrugged. Shizuru's smile brightened. The tawny-haired Kaichou let out a short breathy laugh.

"Good."

After a moment, Natsuki dropped the wary gaze she had set upon the Kaichou. She was probably being overly defensive and strange towards the Kanzaki because she felt so nervous around her. She was still curious about the classroom incident. Ah, that's right. This is the perfect opportunity to question her.

".... Kaichou-san?"

"Shizuru." a bright smile.

"Heh... Shizuru... umm.... in class yesterday, you...."

A look of apprehension crossed the older girl's face. She sighed hesitantly, and Natsuki glad that the Kaichou understood her question without her having to describe exactly what she saw. What did she see, anyway? The Student Council President scenting her with a ravenous look across her face and a hand clamped over her mouth as if she was going to be sick.

_Heh. Talk about mixed signals._

"Natsu-"

"Get away from her."

Both girls jumped slightly at the deep, threatning command that came from Takeda, who was striding towards the jeep with a stony expression on his face and a death glare directed right at Shizuru. Natsuki was taken aback - she'd never seen a side of Takeda that was anything more than mildly irritated, and even that was more of an embarassment thing because Tate had made a perverse joke that morning about Takeda "undressing Natsuki with his eyes" while Natsuki was in earshot and the class had swimming practice.

But now... now Takeda's expression was one of pure, unadulterated _loathing._

And it was directed at the idol of the school.

Feeling the body shift beside her, Natsuki turned to see a grim-faced Shizuru push off from against the car and take a few steps backwards. She broke her staring match with the approaching Takeda and looked towards Natsuki while summoning one of those emotionless smiles she had so many times offerered to the other students.

"Kanin na Natsuki, but I must be going again. See you around."

By this point Takeda was already standing beside Natsuki and glaring at the back of the girl who had turned and was gracefully making her way back to the car of Kanzakis, all of which were looking very serious as they watched what had taken place between Takeda and Shizuru.

A click, and the passenger door Natsuki was standing next to was pulled open by Takeda.

"Come on Natsuki. Let's go."

Without waiting for her to climb in so he could shut the door behind her like he normally does, Takeda just left the door open as he silently marched around to the driver's door and climbed into the jeep. That serious look, one that was now quite similar to the one he had when Natsuki queried about his father's injury, was still frozen in place on his face as he turned on the ignition and roughly pulled his seatbelt across himself. Natsuki, strapping herself in, chanced another glance out of the car window and saw the tail lights of the Kanzaki's sports car disappearing down the road.

_Now.... what the hell was going on with these people?_

* * *

A/N: Terribly, terribly sorry for the lateness. Once again, I blame work. *points to work*

Please let me know if this chapter is up to scratch or if you think I'm heading in a direction you don't like and would like me to change it. Is the ShizNat interaction OOC? Is the chappie too short?

I value your feedback :)

Thanks!


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